Serbia Population: 7,078,110

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Communist Partisans resisted the Axis occupation and division of Yugoslavia from 1941 to 1945 and fought nationalist opponents and collaborators as well. The military and political movement headed by Josip Broz "TITO" (Partisans) took full control of Yugoslavia when their domestic rivals and the occupiers were defeated in 1945. Although communists, TITO and his successors (Tito died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In 1989, Slobodan MILOSEVIC became president of the Republic of Serbia and his ultranationalist calls for Serbian domination led to the violent breakup of Yugoslavia along ethnic lines. In 1991, Croatia, Slovenia, and Macedonia declared independence, followed by Bosnia in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia led various military campaigns to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." These actions ultimately failed and, after international intervention, led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. MILOSEVIC retained control over Serbia and eventually became president of the FRY in 1997. In 1998, an ethnic Albanian insurgency in the formerly autonomous Serbian province of Kosovo provoked a Serbian counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo. The MILOSEVIC government's rejection of a proposed international settlement led to NATO's bombing of Serbia in the spring of 1999. Serbian military and police forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999, and the UN Security Council authorized an interim UN administration and a NATO-led security force in Kosovo. FRY elections in late 2000 led to the ouster of MILOSEVIC and the installation of democratic government. In 2003, the FRY became the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, a loose federation of the two republics. Widespread violence predominantly targeting ethnic Serbs in Kosovo in March 2004 led to more intense calls to address Kosovo's status, and the UN began facilitating status talks in 2006. In June 2006, Montenegro seceded from the federation and declared itself an independent nation. Serbia subsequently gave notice that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro. In February 2008, after nearly two years of inconclusive negotiations, Kosovo declared itself independent of Serbia - an action Serbia refuses to recognize. At Serbia's request, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in October 2008 sought an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on whether Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence was in accordance with international law. In a ruling considered unfavorable to Serbia, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion in July 2010 stating that international law did not prohibit declarations of independence. In late 2010, Serbia agreed to an EU-drafted UNGA Resolution acknowledging the ICJ's decision and calling for a new round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo, this time on practical issues rather than Kosovo's status. Serbia and Kosovo signed the first agreement of principles governing the normalization of relations between the two countries in April 2013 and are in the process of implementing its provisions. In 2015, Serbia and Kosovo reached four additional agreements within the EU-led Brussels Dialogue framework. These included agreements on the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities; telecommunications; energy production and distribution; and freedom of movement. President Aleksandar VUCIC has promoted an ambitious goal of Serbia joining the EU by 2025. Under his leadership as prime minister, in January 2014 Serbia opened formal negotiations for accession. The EU’s Western Balkans Strategy, released in February 2018, outlines the steps that Serbia needs to take to complete the accession process in a 2025 perspective.

air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube; inadequate management of domestic, industrial, and hazardous waste

conventional long form: Republic of Serbia conventional short form: Serbia local long form: Republika Srbija local short form: Srbija former: People's Republic of Serbia, Socialist Republic of Serbia etymology: the origin of the name is uncertain, but seems to be related to the name of the West Slavic Sorbs who reside in the Lusatian region in present-day eastern Germany; by tradition, the Serbs migrated from that region to the Balkans in about the 6th century A.D.

Government type:

parliamentary republic

Capital:

name: Belgrade (Beograd) geographic coordinates: 44 50 N, 20 30 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the Serbian "Beograd" means "white fortress" or "white city" and dates back to the 9th century; the name derives from the white fortress wall that once enclosed the city

National Day (Statehood Day), 15 February (1835), the day the first constitution of the country was adopted

Constitution:

history: many previous; latest adopted 30 September 2006, approved by referendum 28-29 October 2006, effective 8 November 2006 amendments: proposed by at least one-third of deputies in the National Assembly, by the president of the republic, by the government, or by petition of at least 150,000 voters; passage of proposals and draft amendments each requires at least two-thirds majority vote in the Assembly; amendments to constitutional articles including the preamble, constitutional principles, and human and minority rights and freedoms also require passage by simple majority vote in a referendum (2016)

Legal system:

civil law system

Suffrage:

18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Aleksandar VUCIC (since 31 May 2017)

head of government: Prime Minister Ana BRNABIC (since 29 June 2017)

cabinet: Cabinet elected by the National Assembly elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 2 April 2017 (next to be held in 2022); prime minister elected by the National Assembly

description: unicameral National Assembly or Narodna Skupstina (250 seats; members directly elected by party list proportional representation vote in a single nationwide constituency to serve 4-year terms)

highest courts: Supreme Court of Cassation (consists of 36 judges, including the court president); Constitutional Court (consists of 15 judges, including the court president and vice president) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court justices proposed by the High Judicial Council (HJC), an 11-member independent body consisting of 8 judges elected by the National Assembly and 3 ex-officio members; justices appointed by the National Assembly; Constitutional Court judges elected - 5 each by the National Assembly, the president, and the Supreme Court of Cassation; initial appointment of Supreme Court judges by the HJC is 3 years and beyond that period tenure is permanent; Constitutional Court judges elected for 9-year terms

Alliance for a Better Serbia (electoral coalition including LDP, LSV, SDS) Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians or SVM [Istvan PASZTOR] Communist Party or KP [Josip Joska BROZ] Democratic Party or DS [Zoran LUTOVAC] Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Milos JOVANOVIC] Dveri [Bosko OBRADOVIC] Enough is Enough or DJB [Branislav MIHAJLOVIC] For a Just Serbia (electoral coalition including DS, NS, DSVH, VVS) Greens of Serbia or ZS [Ivan KARIC] Justice and Reconciliation Party or SPP [Muamer ZUKORLIC] (formerly Bosniak Democratic Union of Sandzak or BDZS) League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina or LSV [Nenad CANAK] Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Cedomir JOVANOVIC] Movement of Socialists or PS [Aleksandar VULIN] New Party or NOVA [Zoran ZIVKOVIC] New Serbia or NS [Velimir ILIC] Party for Democratic Action or PDD [Shaip KAMBERI] Party of Democratic Action of the Sandzak or SDA [Sulejman UGLJANIN] Party of United Pensioners of Serbia or PUPS [Milan KRKOBABIC] People's Party or NARODNA [Vuk JEREMIC] Serbia is Winning (electoral coalition including NDSS, NS, PS, PSS, PUPS, SDPS, SNP, SNS, SPO) Serbian People's Party or SNP [Nenad POPOVIC] Serbian Progressive Party or SNS [Aleksandar VUCIC] Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Vojislav SESELJ] Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC] Social Democratic Party or SDS [Boris TADIC] Social Democratic Party of Serbia or SDPS [Rasim LJAJIC] Socialist Party of Serbia or SPS [Ivica DACIC] Strength of Serbia or PSS [Bogoljub KARIC] Together for Serbia or ZZS [Hebojsa ZELENOVIC] United Serbia or JS [Dragan MARKOVIC] note: Serbia has more than 110 registered political parties and citizens' associations

Serbia has a transitional economy largely dominated by market forces, but the state sector remains significant in certain areas. The economy relies on manufacturing and exports, driven largely by foreign investment. MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of international economic sanctions, civil war, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the NATO airstrikes in 1999 left the economy worse off than it was in 1990. In 2015, Serbia’s GDP was 27.5% below where it was in 1989. After former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC was ousted in September 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on a market reform program. Serbia renewed its membership in the IMF in December 2000 and rejoined the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Serbia has made progress in trade liberalization and enterprise restructuring and privatization, but many large enterprises - including the power utilities, telecommunications company, natural gas company, and others - remain state-owned. Serbia has made some progress towards EU membership, gaining candidate status in March 2012. In January 2014, Serbia's EU accession talks officially opened and, as of December 2017, Serbia had opened 12 negotiating chapters including one on foreign trade. Serbia's negotiations with the WTO are advanced, with the country's complete ban on the trade and cultivation of agricultural biotechnology products representing the primary remaining obstacle to accession. Serbia maintains a three-year Stand-by Arrangement with the IMF worth approximately $1.3 billion that is scheduled to end in February 2018. The government has shown progress implementing economic reforms, such as fiscal consolidation, privatization, and reducing public spending. Unemployment in Serbia, while relatively low (16% in 2017) compared with its Balkan neighbors, remains significantly above the European average. Serbia is slowly implementing structural economic reforms needed to ensure the country's long-term prosperity. Serbia reduced its budget deficit to 1.7% of GDP and its public debt to 71% of GDP in 2017. Public debt had more than doubled between 2008 and 2015. Serbia's concerns about inflation and exchange-rate stability preclude the use of expansionary monetary policy. Major economic challenges ahead include: stagnant household incomes; the need for private sector job creation; structural reforms of state-owned companies; strategic public sector reforms; and the need for new foreign direct investment. Other serious longer-term challenges include an inefficient judicial system, high levels of corruption, and an aging population. Factors favorable to Serbia's economic growth include the economic reforms it is undergoing as part of its EU accession process and IMF agreement, its strategic location, a relatively inexpensive and skilled labor force, and free trade agreements with the EU, Russia, Turkey, and countries that are members of the Central European Free Trade Agreement.

general assessment: Serbia's integration with the EU has helped regulator reforms and promotion of telecoms; wireless service are available through multiple providers; national coverage is growing very rapidly; best telecommunications services are centered in urban centers; 4G/LTE mobile network launched; 5G trials (2018)

Serbia with several other states protest the US and other states' recognition of Kosovo's declaration of its status as a sovereign and independent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalities along Kosovo's northern border challenge final status of Kosovo-Serbia boundary; several thousand NATO-led Kosovo Force peacekeepers under UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo authority continue to keep the peace within Kosovo between the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority in Kosovo; Serbia delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 18,232 (Croatia), 8,270 (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (2018) IDPs: 199,584 (most are Kosovar Serbs, some are Roma, Ashkalis, and Egyptian (RAE); some RAE IDPs are unregistered) (2019) stateless persons: 2,052 (includes stateless persons in Kosovo) (2018) note: 700,212 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-August 2019); Serbia is predominantly a transit country and hosts an estimated 3,464 migrants and asylum seekers as of the end of July 2019; 8,827 migrant arrivals in 2018

Illicit drugs:

transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering